Composite web forming apparatus and method

A method of continuously forming a composite web for use in the manufacture of a smoking article comprising the steps of:

• unwinding a first fiberglass web having a given width from a first bobbin along a path of travel;
• providing a second fiberglass web of said given width wound on a second bobbin, said second fiberglass web having a leading end;
• positioning the leading end of said second fiberglass web at a splicing region located along the path of travel;
• stopping the unwinding of the first fiberglass web;
• cutting the stopped first fiberglass web along a cutting plane at the splicing region to form a trailing end of the first fiberglass web and a web remnant of the first fiberglass web;
• splicing the leading end of the second fiberglass web to the trailing end of the first fiberglass web at the splicing region to form a joint between said ends;
• and
• unwinding the second fiberglass web from the second bobbin along said path of travel;
• slitting said first web or said second web into two narrow webs of substantially equal widths at a slitting region along the path of travel downstream of the splicing region;
• separating said two narrow webs into a spaced relation;
• guiding a paper web between said two narrow webs;
• and
• converging said two narrow webs and said paper web together to form a three layer composite web with said paper web sandwiched between said two narrow webs.